Monday, March 22, 2010

Riding Log: Day 26 (Okemo, VT)

So after some car trouble and a weekend of rain, it was time to get back on the snow... however wet that snow may be. We decided to give our patronage to Emilio's Ski Shop in Forest Hills and join their group bus trip to Okemo, VT. It was a steal at $90 for lift tickets and transportation. Okemo tickets are $79 ... so for $11 more dollars we got round trip transportation.

The day started off kind of rocky. The alarm going off at 3AM is only part of the reason the morning started off so bad. Jomel arrived a bit late, Paul was cranky, I was cranky, and the drive to the shop (about 8 blocks) was fast... but parking was not. I ended up driving all the way back to my apartment where I had to leave my car parked in exactly the same spot as it was parked the night before. This allowed Paul some I told you so's... he wanted us to walk the 8 blocks with our gear, but I beg to differ. No way my back could survive a 8 block walk lugging gear plus a 5 hour bus ride on top of no sleep and still ride. He sometimes forgets that other people are involved and only cares about how he'd feel. It rubs me the wrong way often. I have to remind myself that he's always been like this... selfish in many ways. I am not the only one whose noticed it... we joke about it often, but its not a joke... it's sad and it needs to change. Hopefully some growing up will happen and it will.

After boarding the bus, we were off to VT. It was a rough trip in the sense that we were all tired as hell and uncomfortable. Sleep was hard to come by. But we were in VT early and we were excited to finally get our gear on and get on the hill.

The conditions were typical spring... soft, wet, fun... then it turned to super wet, slow, not as fun. It was t-shirt weather... sweat... smelly... but still fun.

My back was not happy after a few rough falls... 1 where I landed face 1st into the snow in front of a group of on lookers. Paul couldn't stop himself from laughing... I couldn't stop myself from laughing ... yet I couldnt shake the funk either. It hurt like hell. I jumped off a nice little lip that Paul decided he'd keep to himself. The height of it caught me by surprise and I landed on my butt. Warning would have been nice. He really doesn't give me any credit. He thought if I knew how big it was I wouldn't take it. Little does he know me... those are the only things I like taking. But being prepared for them is what allows me to land them. I'm not one of those people who react mid air and know what to do. It takes the correct mind set and body positioning. I'm still learning!

Anyway I ended up calling it a day early... but I still got a full day in. My legs are still aching. My back is still sore. My smile is still broad.

The bus ride home didn't have the same complications as the way up. My tired body gave into sleep and I managed to stay asleep from VT to the Whitestone Bridge.

Some grub, a shower, tv and bedtime were all that was happening after that day.

Thanks to:
http://www.emiliosskishop.com/ &
http://okemo.com/okemowinter/

2 comments:

Katherine said...

It sounds like you had a great time anyway!! I guess when you're snowboarding, you're always going to have a good time! =)

Lilia said...

Yes this is true. A day of riding is generally always better than a day of not riding. I may say that I'd take a good day kayaking over a bad day snowboarding though.